


how to get away with murder

by setosdarkness



Series: OTP Collection - JuHaku [7]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: M/M, Murder Mystery, main pairing and characters are judar and hakuryuu, the rest of the cast/pairs are going to appear and be hinted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-28 09:39:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2727581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/setosdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hakuryuu isn't sure what came over him when he had shown up uninvited, unannounced, in front of Judar's apartment at two in the morning, blood splatters on his clothes. He's not sure what came over him when he half-babbles that he has killed someone. He's not sure what came over him, but the same can be said for Judar who just tsked at him for disturbing his beauty sleep, before asking if he needs help disposing the body.</p>
            </blockquote>





	how to get away with murder

•••

**01:56 AM – Tuesday – JAN 15, 20XX**

•••

It's four minutes before two, and instead of sleeping like a normal person who still has an important job to go to in a couple of hours, Hakuryuu is slowly tiptoeing up the fire exit staircase to Judar's apartment. His eyes are narrowed to pinpoint any surveillance cameras – but just as Judar had told him many useless conversations ago, this building's security is pretty lax.

If asked, Hakuryuu would have no reason to give for his presence here, in a surprisingly posh-looking apartment building right in the middle of the border between the city's 'good side' and 'bad side', at two in the morning of a Tuesday, with blood splatters on his clothes poorly concealed by a hoodie he has thrown over his outfit from the research project celebration earlier today.

Actually, Hakuryuu has never made his way to Judar's home alone, without any persistent nagging and even more obstinate literal-hand-pulling—courtesy of Judar himself.

His mind is currently both housing worrying blankness and a hurricane of thoughts. It's an annoying contradiction, something that makes Hakuryuu grit his teeth – but not so hard that it will be noisy – and tug the oversized hoodie over his face even more. He can't honestly say that his presence of mind is very… present right now, but he does have enough common sense to grab this piece of clothing while he's making his way almost halfway across the city, enough common sense to make sure that his breathing is regulated and that he isn't making any unnecessary sounds that can bring people's attention to him.

It's now two o'clock, according to his watch that has surprisingly escaped the wrath of the past hour's struggles. It's unfortunate that the same cannot be said of his phone – cracked screen, empty battery, drenched memory card – but he also did thankfully have just enough presence of mind earlier to make sure that he didn't leave his phone behind, useless as it may be.

Hakuryuu takes two more steps until he's right in front of the door to Judar's apartment. He takes a moment to appreciate how Judar's taste in housing is especially helpful right now: only four flights of stairs, it's right beside the fire exit, the doorway is angled away from the security cameras on the next corner. The polished wooden door doesn't betray the state of chaos it houses from the other side, but then again, that's for the best.

Raising his hand tentatively, Hakuryuu knocks on the door, keeps the rhythm consistent with the knock they had established many, many, many years ago, when they were still living in the same mansion. Hakuryuu's never had to use the so-called 'secret-knock' until today, because their past is easily separated into two types of times: their childhood where the two of them are joined together by the hip (and by Judar's clingy-possessive grip) and their teenage years when Hakuryuu didn't want to be associated with any of the shit Judar did (and he certainly didn't have any reasons to seek the other out).

Hakuryuu's never had to return to this darkness – he had succeeded to convince his older sister to break away from the family and live somewhere farther away; he had attained more power using his own hard work; he had managed to form bonds with people other than the ones linked to his so-called _family_ – until today.

Hakuryuu's never had to willingly _return_ to Judar – until today.

His breathing is nothing short of panicked, but he attempts to calm himself.

There's only silence from beyond the door and Hakuryuu bites his lip.

Of course.

He has spent the past couple of years alternating between ignoring Judar and outright chasing the other away, after all.

Who even knew if the other still lived in this place.

Who even knew if the other's even home.

Who even knew if the other will do anything aside from ignore him – or worse, make his life even more of a living hell.

Who—

"Who the _fuck_ —" Judar's unmistakable voice rings out – gruff and annoyed – as the door swings open, the polished wood moving away from Hakuryuu's raised knuckle. The other's eyes are closed, but it's obvious that he's awake and irritated – he's always been lazy and interrupting his frequent bouts of sleep has never boded well for anyone. "It's ass-o'clock in the goddamn morning, so help me, fucking better make this fucking important— _Hakuryuu_!"

Hakuryuu cringes and feels a wave of very improper affection at the other's foul language that instantly gives way to a very happy, unmanly squeal of his name. Hakuryuu has spent the past couple of years refusing to return Judar's friendly gestures that have stemmed from their childhood, but here Judar is, unfailingly excited at the prospect of receiving an iota of attention from him. Hakuryuu's been telling himself that Judar's upbringing just didn't give way to the other's healthy emotional development and that made Judar unbelievably clingy and possessive of the first person he considers his friend – but he isn't blind and he knows that Judar only ever reacts this way when he's involved.

"…Judar."

Judar makes as if to pounce on him, so Hakuryuu takes a couple of steps back, extending both of his hands in front of his chest as warning.

"…don't come near me."

A pout forms on Judar's face, mismatched against the piercing darkness of his face. "Ehhhh~ what's going on, Hakuryuu?"

Hakuryuu thinks that there could be much better places to have this conversation – or better yet, to not have this conversation at all.

"…I killed someone."

His voice is a soft whisper that's dissolved by the gust of the night wind, but the sudden disappearance of the pout to give way to a razor-sharp smile tells him that Judar heard him loud and clear. The other's slouched posture remains, sleep and fatigue still lining his body, but the expression on his face reminds Hakuryuu why he hated associating with Judar once he learned the truth about the other's involvement with the dirty things that stain this world.

"Tsk," Judar's expression doesn't waver nor does it reflect any changes to his attitude towards his self-proclaimed 'most favorite person', "and here I thought that you finally loosened up enough to ditch your goody-goody clothes."

Hakuryuu frowns at the other's words and tries not to flush at the way Judar pointedly looks at the garish skull designs on the hoodie. Words threaten to escape him – explanations as to how he just saw this hoodie by accident while he's running away, as to how it's just serving its purpose of hiding bloodstains from others' eyes, as to how he's kind of developing a rash from wearing a piece of cloth that has been thrown away haphazardly on some park bench.

Words almost spill out of him, but Hakuryuu suddenly finds his mouth sealed by another pair of lips that taste faintly of peaches and tiredness and excitement—a combination that's tellingly _Judar_. It's not Hakuryuu's first kiss with anyone – and quite honestly, it's also not his first kiss with Judar (they've been very close with each other when they were young, something that had always delighted his sister and chilled his brothers; as much as he had resisted, Judar has remained extremely _affectionate_ with him even through their teenage years) – but Hakuryuu still feels overwhelmed, embarrassment bubbling over like a potion of _emotions_ threatening to spill over a cauldron of cautiousness.

Hakuryuu stays very still, his heartbeat echoing in his temples, his breath caught somewhere in his throat.

Judar keeps their lips pressed together for a few more seconds – and Hakuryuu can't quite understand how this simple gesture is enough to freeze him on the spot much better than the combination of a sight of corpses, the sound of police sirens, the scent of blood. Judar's eyes are open, crimson pools of color that shine with an almost manic light. Hakuryuu struggles to keep his composure, his hands shaking with effort to stop himself from pushing Judar away, from pulling Judar closer.

"Hmm, that's payment for disturbing my sleep~" Judar says after he eventually pulls away, taking a small step back. The tips of their shoes are still touching together. Hakuryuu's outstretched arms fall slowly back to his sides. His lips are still tingling. "You really should have picked a better time, Hakuryuu~"

The last time that Hakuryuu's aware that someone had mistakenly woke Judar up – well, the less said about the other's fate, the better. It has been at least three months in the hospital for the poor guy. Hakuryuu's not even sure if the other's still alive now.

"…do you need help disposing the body?" After yawning, Judar asks him casually, as though he's just asking about the weather, as though he's just saying something normal, something that doesn't involve Hakuryuu killing someone in the middle of the night.

Hakuryuu's not even entirely sure why his first instinct is to run over to Judar.

It's just that, at this point, Hakuryuu feels like he finally understands a bit of _why_ Judar continued to cling to him and insist on their friendship, even when Hakuryuu has learned of the truth about that incident, even when Hakuryuu has denounced his connection to the organization, even when Hakuryuu has done nothing but reject Judar.

So, just as casually, he replies with a confidence that he surely doesn't feel:

"…Lend me your hand, Judar."

•••

 ** _how to get away with murder_** ;

•••

**00:07 AM – Tuesday – JAN 15, 20XX**

•••

"I really must be going now."

Hakuryuu turns down Alibaba's yet-another offered drink, smile tightening at the edges of his lips. His blond friend is pretty far gone now, singing half-syllables with an enthusiasm that he surely wouldn't possess if he were sober. Aladdin is also a bit drunk, but he's much more tolerable – wailing-wise – than Alibaba who's now singing something about being girlfriend-less since birth. Morgiana is looking on with a strange expression on her face – well, not that strange, because Hakuryuu has seen that same expression in front of the mirror whenever he catches himself thinking about her, about someone else.

"Hakuryuuuuuuuu, live a lil, will yaaaa?"

Aladdin gamely swats Alibaba's hands away from the shots of brightly-colored liquid that they have been passing along across the table and back for the entirety of the night. Hakuryuu sends a grateful smile to the younger man, because Alibaba's state is hardly conducive for accident-free encounters. Even if Aladdin personally knows the owner of this bar (he even apparently knows some of the hostesses), Hakuryuu highly doubts that they would be let off lightly if their party ended up breaking the shot glasses.

"…as I was saying, I need to go ahead." Hakuryuu talks to the most sober of the lot, bowing deeply. Aladdin looks like he's deciding whether to stop him by having words with him or to stop him by climbing on him. Hakuryuu takes a step back to introduce more space between them – Aladdin's fairly small and light for his age, but Hakuryuu dislikes dealing with having his clothes rumpled or dirtied in any way. Celebration party or not, there's no excuse for going wild with abandon.

Hakuryuu breathes out a sigh of relief when Aladdin's eyes cross before he waves him away. "Okay! Hakuryuu! Go home safely! Okay!"

"Goodbye, Aladdin-dono, Alibaba-dono, Mor—"

"I will accompany you to the station."

Hakuryuu freezes when Morgiana calmly speaks up, the blush high on her cheeks the only indicator that she allowed Alibaba to coax her into drinking.

"There's no need, Morgiana-dono." Hakuryuu's not sure he can handle being this near Morgiana after what had happened. Not to mention, ladies are meant to be protected, not exposed to more danger. Not that this area has had an actual crime rate since ten years ago. "I can take care of myself."

Morgiana's already walking away. "Let's go, Hakuryuu-san."

Hakuryuu looks back with some shades of hesitation, but he only sees Aladdin alternating between flirting with the hostesses and looking worriedly at Alibaba, while the blond is oblivious of the concerned stares and is now wailing nonsense to his makeshift microphone, while dancing like the drunkard that he is on top of the table.

He knows that Morgiana is more than capable of taking care of herself. The station isn't that far away – there are no more trains, but they're in the middle of the city known for late-night parties, so it's not going to be difficult to hail a cab back to his place. There's still work tomorrow – though it's probably not going to be very productive, seeing as everyone from their department are inside this bar, enjoying themselves and congratulating each other for a job well done.

Hakuryuu sighs before he moves to follow Morgiana's back.

And not for the first time, he feels a trickle of hatred at seeing her figure.

•••

**_ten years ago_ **

•••

"Come ooooon, Hakuryuu~~~"

"Where are we going, Judar?" Hakuryuu asks petulantly, even as he allows himself to be bodily dragged to wherever Judar is going. Judar simply tugs at his elbow more insistently, knowing that it's not like Hakuryuu has ever denied him anything in their years of knowing each other.

It's almost sweet, if not extremely annoying at times.

It's even more annoying once Hakuryuu thinks about how he feels _fondness_ instead of irritation whenever Judar acts spoiled like this.

"We'll be there soon," Judar promises him with a smile as they reach an intersection.

The traffic signal is still _red_ for their side of the road, so Hakuryuu takes a moment to catch his breath while leaning against Judar's warm side. Judar's hand slips from his gripping his right elbow to hold him by his hand. Hakuryuu feels his cheeks burn as red as the traffic light.

"Where are we going?" Hakuryuu repeats his question quietly, turning his head to the right so he can ask his question to the minute distance between their cheeks. The intersection is starting to fill with other pedestrians, so Hakuryuu takes two small steps sideways, so he can stand closer to his companion.

"We're going to my secret hideout," Judar replies with a soft whisper, just as he tilts his head to the left so that their cheeks rub together. They're too close to each other, but the others surrounding them are too focused in their own lives to pay them attention. This closeness is comforting, so Hakuryuu absolutely doesn't pull away. It's not like his older siblings are around to slowly reiterate how it's not good if he continues being so _close_ with Judar. Hakuryuu loves them very much, but he can't quite understand why they are so wary of his friend.

Hakuryuu holds Judar's hands tighter as the light changes to green and the people around them start to make their way across the intersection. "Then it's not a secret anymore."

"Well, I like you, so I don't mind telling _you_."

Hakuryuu feels himself going out of breath again, even if they've just started walking after a moment of rest. Judar really has a way with words – Hakuren-niisan calls it rudeness – to the point that almost everything he says sounds pleasant to Hakuryuu's ears.

It's extremely annoying.

It's even more annoying because Hakuryuu feels no irritation whatsoever and instead feels a surge of affection.

Hakuryuu wonders if he can ever return the other's sentiments as casually like that.

•••

**_seven years ago_ **

•••

Seeing his older sister looking so happy like this makes Hakuryuu feel conflicted.

While his sister and her happiness have always been very important to him – she's his only remaining family member after _that incident_ after all – Hakuryuu's not sure how should he feel upon seeing his sister find her happiness while on Kouen's side. Granted, it's not like the two of them are even holding hands, but Hakuryuu can easily read the comfortable air enveloping the two of them.

He feels a stab of resentment – how can she be so close with him when it's not a secret that Kouen is one of _that woman's_ pawns?

Hakuryuu has distanced himself from Judar because of the other's association with Al-Thamen, after all. How can she not do the same? How can she still remain as happy and content when she's in close proximity with such darkness?

It's so very _unfair_.

•••

**_five years ago_**

•••

"Why are you so mad at me, Hakuryuu?"

It's a question that has been repeated for countless times since the incident.

He can _see_ Judar's pouting face clearly even with his eyes closed. It's a troublesome skill to have, because Hakuryuu has always been weak against the other's sulking. He's always chastised Judar for being so shameless when it comes to admitting that he's using his pretty face to get what he wants, but it's very hypocritical of him, because he's always been Judar's number one victim – something that both of them know very well.

Hakuryuu _knows_ it's petty, but he does his best to protest against Judar's charms by staying as silent as possible during moments like this. He keeps his lips stubbornly pressed together when Judar kisses him, prods at his mouth with his tongue. He continues to keep doing so even when Judar frowns and nips at the corner of his lips. Hakuryuu squeezes his eyes shut so he can't see the confused hurt in Judar's face real-time – and he instead just sees the Judar his mind conjures from underneath the blanket of his eyelids.

"Heyyyy, Hakuryuu~~~"

Hakuryuu swallows his sigh when Judar ceases his attempts to make him respond to his kisses. The assault on his senses resumes quickly when Judar instead nuzzles into the junction of his neck and shoulder, licking at the uneven edges of his scarred skin there. With Hakuryuu's favored dressing style, it's not like anyone can see any marks or hickeys there, but it still makes Hakuryuu uncomfortable that he's being _marked_ by someone – most especially if it's someone named Judar. Hakuryuu hisses and pushes weakly at Judar's shoulders when he feels Judar bite and suck at his skin, his feelings warring between wanting Judar to continue and be more aggressive and wanting Judar to stop and leave him alone.

In the end, Judar lifts his head up from his neck and sits up, placing his ass securely atop Hakuryuu's thighs, dragging his hands from Hakuryuu's biceps to his cheeks, cradling his face and pinching at the skin just beneath his eyes.

"Hakuryuuuuu, look at meeee~~~"

Judar isn't above outright whining and the sound of voice grates at Hakuryuu's ears. That's the only reason he actually complies with Judar's request to open his eyes and return his crimson gaze. Hakuryuu stares at Judar, keeps his gaze pinned to the other's eyes so that he doesn't see the shiny-lipped pout.

" _What_."

"You're boring when you're all quiet," Judar complains with a hint of hurt – Hakuryuu tells himself it's just because Judar isn't used to being denied any whim of his – just as he knocks their foreheads close together. Judar smells like the artificial sugar of canned peaches, sickly sweet and downright _fake_. "I don't like it when you're mad at me."

Hakuryuu rolls his eyes at the other's protesting, because Judar is really one of a kind. He's so spoiled that he places himself above everyone else. His hatred of Hakuryuu's silent treatment has more to do with his dissatisfaction on how that kind of treatment makes _him_ feel, rather than wanting to know the reason behind Hakuryuu's anger. Or maybe it's because Judar already knows and understands the distance that's currently between them – Hakuryuu has never kept it a secret and that witch certainly hasn't.

"I don't care what you want," Hakuryuu hisses at the other, thankfully not blushing when their lips brush together with each syllable.

Judar looks at him, rubs their noses together, before pinching his cheeks again. "You know I only like you, Hakuryuu."

The way Judar says it is so full of fondness – very _offensively_ , because how dare Judar assume that Hakuryuu's anger is due to some screwed-up jealousy? He isn't worried that Judar might like someone else aside from him – he doesn't care if Judar wants to go and ally himself with that impure group of very suspicious veiled men, just as he doesn't care if Judar wants to go and support Kouen, Koumei, Kouha or even Sinbad. _He doesn't care at all_.

"I hate you," Hakuryuu hisses again and feels a spike of satisfaction when he sees Judar's expression falter for a moment.

Judar recovers easily though, kissing him again, tight-lipped and close-mouthed, but not any less fierce. "You still suck at lying, Hakuryuu."

He isn't lying – but before he can even start to voice out his protests, his words are sucked into Judar's kiss. Hakuryuu tilts his head to break their connection, but Judar only has to squirm from his perch right above his lap for him to move his head back and accept the other's affections.

Hakuryuu carefully doesn't think of how he definitely shouldn't be doing this – not in his bedroom with a lock that only works a third of the time, not inside this cramped apartment that's not even close to the lavishness of the previous residence that they had enjoyed when the Kou Family was still devoid of the dark leeches that it now houses instead, not while his sister is out on an errand that's probably just a code for her to meet up with Kouen yet again – _not ever_.

But then again, ever since he had found out that Gyokuen was the witch behind that incident, thoughts of how he should stay away from Judar have been in constant, sickening loop inside his head. It's always been amongst his foremost thoughts, but Hakuryuu's always been too weak against Judar's assaults to resist him entirely. It definitely doesn't help that Judar is the only one who had remained the same after the incident – his body has been changed entirely by the scars that have mostly enveloped his very being, his family has been splintered into countless painful pieces and his psyche has been battered completely by his mother's calm admission that she was behind every single darkness in his world.

Throughout all that change, Judar has always stayed by his side, pestering him, ignoring his complaints, _loving him_ , even if they're all very wrong.

Hakuryuu hates him for being one of the witch's pawns but he also hates himself for not being strong enough to completely resist the other.

"I only like you," Judar repeats, fingers splayed across Hakuryuu's cheeks, touching him with reverence and gentleness that are so out of place in this world, "and I'd only like to be on your side."

Hakuryuu wants to spit at him, maybe even punch him or tug at the other's long braid.

Judar is a liar.

He can't be telling the truth.

He just can't.

"I'll only be loyal to you." Judar looks at him imploringly, which only makes Hakuryuu fume. "I promise it's only you, no matter what. Okay, Hakuryuu?"

Hakuryuu doesn't believe him.

Hakuryuu wants to believe him.

Instead of answering, Hakuryuu only closes his eyes.  
  
•••

**three years ago**

•••

Hakuryuu grits his teeth as he endures another round of 'Judar-chan' this, 'Judar-chan' that from Kougyoku.

They're not too far apart in their ages, but hearing her sing praises for Judar (even if it's masked unconvincingly by her complaints of the other's teasing) reminds him too strongly of his childhood when he used to think that Judar was the epitome of coolness.

It's no wonder nobody takes Kougyoku too seriously at the Main House – despite her proven battle prowess and despite being awarded governance over a tiny ward, she's still rather naïve. She's way too innocent if she can't realize that there's nothing inherently _good_ about Judar, just as she's too trusting if she thinks someone like Judar would consider someone like her as a _friend_.

Hakuryuu quashes the voice inside his head that sing-songs in a suspiciously familiar voice that he's just being jealous.

He isn't jealous of Kougyoku – he's had more than enough of his share of Judar's playful teasing. He isn't even jealous of Kouha who drinks with Judar every couple of weeks nor is he jealous of Kouen who Judar's supposedly working for. He's also certainly not jealous of Sinbad who calls Judar an 'old friend'. He isn't jealous of anyone in Judar's life.

Hakuryuu's just _dismayed_ that someone like Kougyoku is so easily fooled by Judar.

Kougyoku continues to do her best to act as a bridge between Judar and Hakuryuu, delivering messages and gifts to Hakuryuu like a demented postal delivery service. Kougyoku also continues to ask Hakuryuu to _give Judar a chance_ so that their friendship will be mended.

Kougyoku doesn't even know _why_ Hakuryuu avoids Judar like the plague.

Kougyoku doesn't know anything.

Nobody knows anything.

All Kougyoku sees is two friends who are separated by an argument.

Everyone only sees the inappropriate behavior of someone from the abandoned branch family easily ignoring the trump card of the Main Family.

Nobody knows of Judar's nightly excursions to Hakuryuu's dingy apartment. Nobody knows that Hakuryuu has long given up in repairing the broken bedside window, not because he wants to invite Judar in, but because he knows Judar will just destroy it all over again should he try to bar the other's entrance. Nobody knows about how Judar bodily clings to Hakuryuu during those nights, how Judar holds Hakuryuu close in an embrace that promises things even without words, how Judar only sleeps once Hakuryuu relaxes and melts against him.

Nobody knows that Judar always leaves before Hakuryuu wakes up, just like a persistent phantom memory that Hakuryuu can't quite miss and can't quite get hold of.

"—you should be friends again with Judar-chan, you know?"

Hakuryuu thinks that the most complicated part is that they've long gone past the point of normal friendship that it's difficult to try anything else less than that.

•••

**_one year ago_**

•••

"You have such shitty taste in women, Hakuryuu~"

Hakuryuu steadfastly ignores Judar's condescending cooing, just as he bites his lip and doesn’t make a comment about how Judar's face practically lit up after facing off with Aladdin. He doesn't think Judar has any right to criticize his taste on _anyone_ just as he doesn't think Judar has any leg to stand on about jealousy. Hakuryuu doesn't make any comment at all, because he knows how his silence annoys the other.

Judar pointedly drags his nails against Hakuryuu's back, his shirt failing to reduce the pain from the motion.

Hakuryuu gulps down the whimper that struggles to escape. He instead focuses on his misgivings about the situation – for a five-star hotel, their bathroom stall sure is cramped. Also, Hakuryuu hopes that the two of them managed to lock themselves inside the men's room, instead of the women's – the lighting and the aroma are too dim for him to discern anything else, not to mention that the two of them were in such a hurry that they couldn't be bothered to really check.

(Of course, Judar had previously let it slip that they will be here today as well, but seeing him in an unlikely suit surrounded by stiff-shouldered mafia still made Hakuryuu gasp.

Hakuryuu wasn't jealous of how Judar had sauntered over and offered his greetings to Aladdin – though he's admittedly ticked off with how Judar had insulted everyone in their table except for him. Hakuryuu had gone out after Judar – who really liked invading other people's spaces, offer a few words to stir things up, then just _leave_ – but he had only been half-hoping that Judar will be waiting for him outside the hotel's restaurant area.)

"Don't insult Morgiana-dono."

Judar makes a sound like he can't really care any less. He hums against the high collar covering Hakuryuu's throat. "Hmmm, so her name's Morgana?"

"It's _Morgiana_." Hakuryuu rolls his eyes at the other's failure to remember his companion's name. While other people would think that Judar's doing this just to be difficult, Hakuryuu knows that Judar just really can't be bothered to use a couple of his brain cells to remember someone he doesn't have any plans of caring for.

"Eh, who cares?" Judar's hands stop their race up and down Hakuryuu's back and instead settle on etching painful crescents against Hakuryuu's hips. There are layers upon layers of clothing between their bodies, but Hakuryuu _feel_ the press of Judar's skin against his fairly easily. He wonders if that's because of the countless nights they have spent in each other's arms or if that's due to the two goblets of wine that he has drunk earlier this evening.

"Won't they miss your presence?" Hakuryuu asks not without a shred of bitterness, as he remembers Kouen looking at him earlier.

The two factions meeting here tonight is surely not coincidental, though he's not sure if it's more due to Sinbad's machinations or Kouen's greed for intellectual attacks. His studying in a university under Sinbad's territory, as well as him taking up a job at Sinbad's company, is all within the Kou Family head's expectations – Hakuryuu made the proposal, using fancy words like diplomacy and whatnot, but the idea still verged on Koutoku giving the approval.

Hakuryuu's revenge is crawling slowly, but there's still progress. He must not get disheartened, even if Sinbad is too sly to be led into waging a turf war against the Kou Family. He definitely must not get discouraged, even as Judar easily crosses over the two areas and spins him around like a fool.

"Aw, you really _are_ jealous!" Judar lifts his head from his current project of mouthing against Hakuryuu's left nipple over his dress shirt. Hakuryuu carefully doesn't think of how gross it feels to have his shirt stick to his skin. "I _told_ you that I'd gladly join forces with you!"

Hakuryuu closes his eyes so he doesn't meet Judar's earnest gaze.

It's true that Judar has always offered to 'join forces' with him.

Hakuryuu has always turned that offer down, because joining forces with Judar means joining forces with the witch that he strives to strike down—he's not _Kouen_ , who'd gladly taint his body with the witch's poison just to obtain strength. Hakuryuu will become strong enough to kill Gyokuen and overturn the Kou Family—without using Gyokuen's organization's power.

While he's keenly aware of how Judar is more than powerful enough to be a valuable ally, he doesn't know if he'll ever be convinced that the other's help doesn't come with a caveat of him being absorbed into Gyokuen's impure organization.

"Shut up, Judar."

It's a weak comeback, not only because it's delivered in a too-breathy voice. Judar simply chuckles at him and refocuses on making him look as debauched as possible.

"You know that I'll still love only you even if you play around with them, right~~~?"

Hakuryuu frowns at those words and tugs at the base of Judar's braid. Judar looks at him with something akin to giddiness and possessiveness and Hakuryuu feels so, so _drunk_. Judar has always mumbled about loving him, about being loyal to him, but never in this context, never in a way that gives Hakuryuu _power_ over their relationship. Judar is currently saying that he doesn't mind even if Hakuryuu goes out right now and propose to someone.

It's _insane_.

It's even crazier because Hakuryuu knows that Judar knows that he won't do it – at least, not because he truly would like to spend time with someone else. Hakuryuu thinks he'll probably try to court Morgiana-dono or maybe even Alibaba-dono, but that would only be because he wants to _test_ Judar and his words.

It's very insane and so very Judar that Hakuryuu ends up laughing at the two of them – children playing as adults in this world that they cannot control.

" _Shut up, Judar_ ," he repeats instead, and hauls Judar by his braid up so he can seal the other's mouth to stop the flow of other laughable words.

•••

**_nine years ago_ **

•••

"—you…killed…them?"

Gyokuen smiles, lips stretching unnaturally up until her cheeks, eyes dark black and pupils red with blood, and smiles and smiles: "And what will you do if I say yes?"

Hakuryuu doesn't care that he just got out of the hospital after many months of verging between life and death, his entire body covered with scars that remind him of the pain his older brothers and his father underwent under the hands of this witch in front of his eyes.

He snarls and growls and bites and kicks – he hates the way his sister stands to the side and cries his name out imploringly, like he's the unreasonable one; he hates the way Kouha effortlessly holds him back; he hates the way Kouen and Koumei form an impassive two-man wall between him and Gyokuen. He hates how the witch just smiles and smiles and smiles like a victorious villain, laughing at the destruction at her wake, with the knowledge that she's safe from any form of retribution. Hakuryuu _hates_.

One of the masked servants hand a whip to Gyokuen, who runs her hands over the handle reverently. Hakuryuu _hates_ her for looking so elegant and untouchable, like a truly beautiful jewel, when everybody knows that she's filthier than all of the world's sewers combined. Her grotesque smile stretches impossibly more, the whip cracking against the ground despite the flinch from his sister and the tension from Kouha and the disapproval from Kouen and the apathy from Koumei and Hakuryuu would gladly bear that pain if it means getting a chance to come closer and _kill her_.

Hakuryuu sees the whip's end snake towards him almost in slow-motion, but it doesn't sting his skin.

The end of the whip ends up in a pale hand that's all too familiar.

"Hey, I thought you were gonna teach me how use this whip today," Judar has the gall to interrupt and say his words so casually, even as his hold tightens around the leather in his palm. "Come on, let's goooo."

Hakuryuu can't see Judar's expression, but he can see the other's back, solid and reliable, in front of him. Hakuryuu can only see the dumbfounded expressions on his siblings and half-brothers, can only see the witch's horrible smile smooth back to a more normal expression.

She tugs the whip back after a few tense seconds. "It seems that you'll have to continue your desire to take your revenge on your dreams, my adorable Hakuryuu."

She turns around and leaves, her army of followers moving with her.

After a few more moments, Judar follows her wordlessly.

Left behind, Hakuryuu thinks of how much he _hates_.

•••

**02:32 AM – Tuesday – JAN 15, 20XX**

•••

"…Eh??? What's going on???"

Judar is hardly the type of person who's satisfied with appearing lost in any given situation, but Hakuryuu doesn't have enough time to spare his companion's uncharacteristic reaction.

His eyes are wildly going over the scene – everything looks exactly the same as he left it almost two hours ago now – except for one very important detail.

The knocked-over garbage bin is still knocked over, papers spilled into the damp alleyway. The night breeze has failed to move any of the papers, no thanks to the wet flooring of the alleyway. The chipped wall where his phone had been slammed against still has that indentation from the force of the collision.

Judar has wisely insisted upon tracing his path from earlier – so that he'll be less overcome with paranoia about being captured by the street cameras during his undignified escape from this scene.

Everything has remained exactly the same when he left frantically earlier – except for the very reason for him running to Judar's apartment at two in the morning.

"I thought you mentioned that we'll have to make a body disappear? But nothing's here, _Hakuryuu_ ~?"

Hakuryuu feels faint, hating the way Judar has just carelessly voiced out his main problem here.

There's no trace of the body – no trace of the blood splatters from his desperate slash across the chest, no sight of the shredded sleeve that got caught in-between their struggle, no evidence of the red-tinged hair of the person he has deliberately murdered.

Hakuryuu's fairly certain that the other was _dead_ when he left earlier.

But if that's not the case—

"Does this mean we're done here? But wait—if the corpse escaped, then they could report you, Hakuryuu! Let's kill them again!"

There are no more traces of red – not on the ground, not on the walls, not on the sky.

"…it seems that we'll have to do that." Hakuryuu doesn't have Judar's enthusiasm for carnage, but maybe that's one of the reasons why he has instinctively sought the other out, despite their troubled past. "I guess I'll follow your lead, Judar."

It seems like he'll have to kill her again, after all.

••• **to be continued**

**Author's Note:**

> \- This is going to be mainly Judar/Hakuryuu, though this fic is going to incorporate a lot of plot elements from the original manga, so there's also a lot of side/background/hinted relationships and ~feelings~  
> \- I'm estimating this to be around four to five parts? It's not gonna be too long, because this is mainly just a 'who did Hakuryuu kill???' & 'what happened to the body???' & mostly 'when will Hakuryuu stop being tsundere over Judar???' fic ;)  
> \- Thoughts/comments/violent reactions are very welcome! :)


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